Blind Side

Blind Side

“Full many a gem of purest ray serene

The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,

And waste its sweetness on the desert air”

Thomas Gray’s Elegy is a piece of classical verse that has remained with me since high school. But its true import I have felt only over the course of a decade and a bit in consulting.

Most of us are familiar with that helpless feeling, when we come upon an outstanding employee who is evidently underutilized, or an obviously gifted young adolescent who is misdirected?

Who can forget the lightning gloves of a Sadanand Vishwanath, the on court ballet of a Hana Mandlikova or the sheer audacity of an Amy Winehouse’s vocal chords? They were patently the stuff of genius. Our collective hearts will bleed for them, and forever wonder how good they might have become.

These are the ones who got our attention. But for every one of these celebrated near misses, there are a million others who meet this fate anonymously. Unrecognized, under- leveraged or misdirected talent, running into oblivion every day. In our work too, we frequently encounter businesses (and even geographies) with very similar futures.

When we talk about ‘unlocking value’ in boardrooms, there is a strange, almost impersonal, monetary ring to it. Who will unlock it? Where is it lying now? When will we unlock it?

Very often these outstanding gems disappear meekly into the darkness forever, because they weren’t overtly worth our time and effort. And there lies the bigger tragedy. Most often. That we fail to recognize the “purest ray” in individuals, organisations and entire communities. As leadership, we are often blindsided to the not so obvious lustre of ordinary mortals who work for us or alongside us. Of recipes and reputations that can so easily be ignored.

But what happens when we actively engage and pursue these doggedly. A TATA, a Fabindia, a Leander Paes. Entities who consistently punched well above their weight. Because somebody cared enough to recognize, nurture and exploit their winning traits.

Over the course of this year, I would like very much for us to talk about all those outstanding assets that need our attention, time and investment - that we will have so many more to celebrate.